[For Seniors] Enjoy and Beat the Summer Heat! July Craft Ideas

Summer Etegami: How to Draw Wind Chimes

Summer Picture Letter: How to Draw Wind Chimes

Here’s how to draw a summery, refreshing wind chime.

Prepare a postcard, paints, brushes, a pencil, colored pencils, and a ruler.

First, paint the wind chime with black paint; since you can’t erase paint once it’s applied, if you’re unsure, it may be better to sketch the outline in pencil first.

Draw the outer body, the clapper, and the paper strip (tanzaku) in that order, and add a goldfish pattern to the outer body.

After adding color to the drawing, use a ruler and colored pencils to draw a sudare (bamboo screen).

Paint the sudare’s threads with paint, and finally add lettering to finish.

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sasashina

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Morning-glory summer greeting

[Explanation] Summer Picture Letter: Morning Glory Summer Greeting Card – Beginner-Friendly Flower Drawing Method

There are probably some older people who, upon seeing morning glories, think, “Summer has arrived.” Morning glories are a flower that represents summer.

Try adding them to your summer greeting cards.

Draw morning glories with a brush pen and then color them with watercolors.

If you add light and dark shading to the petals, the expression of the painting will deepen considerably.

Morning glories are vivid in color yet also have a delicate, softly nuanced feel.

A summer greeting card featuring morning glories that captures those qualities is sure to delight the recipient.

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Nakajima Junko

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Summer greeting cards made with eraser stamps

Let's make an eraser stamp and create an original summer greeting card.

Let’s try making summer greeting cards using stamps carved from erasers.

The erasers you find in the stationery section are soft and perfect for older adults to make stamps with.

Of course, they’re easy to carve with a utility knife or carving tools, but you can also use safer substitutes.

It seems you can make eraser stamps using a clay spatula and toothpicks as well.

Try creating eraser stamps with summery motifs like watermelon, shaved ice, or sunflowers.

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Simple and stylish summer greeting

[Summer and Late-Summer Greetings] Two easy and stylish ways to draw summer greeting postcards | Hand-drawn with Mildliners | summer greeting card ideas easy and cute

Let me introduce some stylish and easy-to-make summer greeting cards using highlighters.

There are tips for things like how to apply color with highlighters and how to draw clean circles.

That said, there aren’t many complicated steps, so if you enjoy coloring, you’ll likely have fun making them.

Highlighters are also available at 100-yen shops, so they should be easy to prepare.

What’s more, highlighter projects are easy for older adults too—just remove the cap and you can start drawing right away.

The mood of your summer greeting card changes depending on how you arrange the illustrations and which pen colors you choose.

Please use this as a reference for creating unique, stylish, and lovely works by older adults.

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Summer greeting with fireworks

Easy-to-draw summer greeting (fireworks)

When we hear “fireworks,” we tend to imagine the kind that shoot up into the sky with a boom, but what’s being introduced here is how to draw sparklers (senko hanabi).

First, draw the sparkler itself, then add red and yellow sparks around it.

As a creative touch, try using the rim of a wax crayon—not just paint—to depict the sparks.

Because the wax is white, it’s hard to see while you’re drawing, but at the end, when you lightly wash the whole piece with blue paint, it creates a resist effect, making the white areas stand out beautifully.

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Goldfish summer greeting card

Easy-to-draw summer greeting (1): Goldfish version

At summer festivals and fireworks displays, you often see stalls for scooping goldfish.

Goldfish scooping is a hallmark of summer and popular with children.

Many older adults may also remember enjoying it with their families.

Goldfish bowls and aquariums have a cooling feel as well.

So why not send a summer greeting card featuring goldfish? Pairing a message of concern about the heat with an image of goldfish can help convey a sense of coolness.

Try drawing the goldfish with a brush or creating them with torn-paper collage.

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Goldfish made with craft bands

A slow, step-by-step guide to making a goldfish (angelfish). An easy craft that even elementary school kids can make—perfect for first-time eco-craft/craft band projects, and doable with PP bands too.

Here’s an idea for making a goldfish out of craft bands.

Prepare two craft bands that are 35 cm long and 6 strips wide.

The length and width will vary depending on the size of the goldfish.

First, fold each craft band in half, layer them, and weave using the box (four-strap) weave.

Flip it over, fold the craft band, and pass it through the next gap.

Repeat folding and threading; once the head and body of the goldfish are formed, leave the fin sections and cut the craft bands.

Tuck in the cut ends to create the tail fin, and you’re done.

Add eyes to finish it off cutely.

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